Without warning, the sound of a lone gunshot rang out, shocking him as it echoed in his ears. Kane bolted for the door without looking back.
Chapter Eleven
“You don’t shoot when a civilian’s involved.” Kane’s shout reverberated through the air, stopping passersby on the street.
“You do when there’s a safe shot,” the rookie retorted.
“Didn’t you learn anything at the academy? There is no such thing, and I’ll make sure you have plenty of time to remember that while you’re walking the beat for the next month.”
Kayla cringed from her perch on the curb where she’d fallen. Some trigger-happy cop had decided to take out the suspect when he’d tried to drag her into the car along with him. She supposed she should be grateful, but from the anger in Kane’s voice, she knew they’d both be paying for the foreseeable future. If Kane even stuck around that long, now that they had the guy in custody.
The rookie had hit the man in the leg, and he’d dropped hard, his weight taking her down with him. Now he lay moaning in pain, surrounded by police.
“And you.” Kane rounded the circle of cops, his attention now fully focused on her.
The adrenaline rush from seeing him was much more potent than anything that had come before. His int
ense gaze settled on her face, and her heart rate kicked into high gear.
“I thought I told you to stay put. To make sure you didn’t leave the restaurant. But following orders isn’t in your vocabulary, is it?” He loomed over her. Big, powerful, and sexy, despite his all-encompassing anger.
Her fingertips curled around the curb, and the rough concrete bit into her skin. “Not when I’m stranded on my own and forced to improvise. He said move; I moved. I didn’t think…”
His jaw clenched in a gesture she’d come to recognize, one that signaled the calm before the proverbial storm. “You’re damn right you didn’t think. You didn’t think he’d grab you, didn’t think he’d try to drag you into his car, didn’t think some rookie looking for a promotion would see his chance and fire.”
She’d put herself in danger while he was powerless to stop it…just like with his mother. Kayla realized the foundation of his anger way too late to prevent the flood of emotion she’d inadvertently unleashed. The yelling came from deep concern, and fear of reliving his painful past.
“I’m not hurt, Kane.”
“But you had to push him,” he continued as if he hadn’t heard. He probably hadn’t. “You had to know about your aunt. You couldn’t trust me to do my job…” His voice trailed off and he paused, shaking his head. “It’s not like I gave you any damn reason to.”
She trusted him, all right. With her life and with her heart. But he wouldn’t believe her any more than he’d want to hear the truth. Because Kane was only concerned with his job, not with emotions he hadn’t asked her to feel for him. This turn of events hadn’t helped. In fact, that rookie had probably shot her happy ending to hell and back.
Kane had wanted a neat wrap-up, no problems, no proof that he’d let his feelings sway his judgment in any way. Life had just thrown the unexpected in his path. He’d have to deal with that, Kayla thought. The man had emotions and it was past time he got in touch with them.
She quickly cataloged her body, and not finding any overt injuries, she levered herself to a standing position. Unexpected pain shot through her ankle when she put pressure on her foot. She forced what she hoped was an easy smile. “I’m fine.”
His hand reached out to stroke her cheek. Spiraling dizziness assaulted her. Not from the shock of the past few minutes, but from his heated touch and the caring it implied.
“You just winced.” His husky voice shook her composure. Could she dare hope he wouldn’t be able to walk away?
“Did I? I didn’t realize. That guy weighed a ton, and I took the brunt of his fall. Look, Captain Reid’s here,” she said, hoping to distract him so she could walk the kinks out of her ankle.
Kane placed his hand on the small of her back, waiting for her to precede him. She drew a deep breath and took her first step. Her ankle buckled beneath her.
His muttered curse coincided with the sudden weightless sensation of being swept off her feet.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting you the hell out of here.”
She gripped his shoulders with both hands and held on tight. Hard muscles flexed beneath her fingertips, and an accompanying rhythm began to hum inside her as well. She couldn’t suppress a shiver of desire. “Put me down and let me walk on my own. This is humiliating.” And arousing. And it felt way too good for something destined to end.
“McDermott.” The older man walked toward them.
“Captain.”
“Anything you need from her you’ve got recorded. She’ll be down tomorrow to make a statement,” Kane said.